


The Simplest of Things

by Mauii



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- Tattoo Artist, Angst, Bartender Niall, Fluff, Harry has rich parents, M/M, New York City, Surgeon!Liam, Tattoo Artist Louis, Tattoo Artist Zayn, University Student Harry, Zayn Malik & Louis Tomlinson Friendship, Zayn has an unhealthy obsession with Paula Abdul's music, hes @ columbia fyi, im so bad at tagging goodnESS, like teeny weeny angst, nick's an asshole, not even angst, we'll get to that, who am i kidding so do i, ziam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-09-20 04:42:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9476243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mauii/pseuds/Mauii
Summary: "It's just- I went to the bar on 12th, right? And I sit at the bar, ask for a beer, and prepare myself for an uneventful night. I was prepared, Zayn, prepared for an uneventful night, but then Greek God Harry fuckin' struts in and sits himself down right fucking next to me, and just- he says, 'Come here often?' And the thing is, he sounded so sweet and not douche-y at all, Z! So we sit there and chat for half an hour, and then fucking Nick Grimshaw texts me, drunk as hell, and he ruins it. He soiled it. He basically pissed in my cheerios, he ruined it that much! So I give Harry my number and tell him to call me, and I leave. I told him to call me, in a very sexy voice, I might add, and he hasn't yet! Is there something wrong with me, Z? Am I not good enough?"Zayn's quiet for a moment. "Fuckin' hell, mate. It's seven-thirty in the morning, give 'im some time if he's as great as you say."Oh. He didn't realize it was seven-thirty.He gives Zayn a sheepish look and turns to face the window again.Or, the one where Louis and Zayn own at a tattoo shop, Harry has rich parents and really loves New York City, Niall's a bartender and Liam's a big fluff ball.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this on and off again for the past six months and im not even close to being done but i felt like posting some of it so here you go sorry in advance

_ The Simplest of Things _

“Sometimes, the simple things are more fun and meaningful than all the banquets in the world …” _ ―  _ E.A. Bucchianeri _ , Brushstrokes of a Gadfly _

 

++

 

Louis walks into the dark, noisy club with hazy eyes and a loaded mind. He's here to forget everything that happened over the last eight months, forget the tears shed, forget the screaming matches, forget everything  _ he  _ did, and to just forget  _ him _ . 

But how could he?

Those eight months were everything; they were his happiest moments in the last year, they were the small things that made him smile, they were the things that made him cry the hardest because of how much he missed it.

Of course  _ he  _ had to ruin it, though. It was a bit obvious, now that Louis' thinking back on it. 

_ He  _ would stay out late and not get home until four,  _ he _ would stay he had to stay late at the office,  _ he  _ cancelled plans to go take the new boy, Michael, out and 'make him feel welcome' (which means take him to a fancy restaurant, head back to Michael’s apartment, and fuck on the couch). 

He sighs.

The bartender keeps looking over to him, with weary eyes and a small frown. He brings out a bottle of beer, nibbling on his bottom lip, and slides it over to Louis. Louis nods in the general direction of the small man with bleached-blonde hair and bright blue eyes as he takes a swig of the beer. It's bitter.

"No problem, mate."

The bartender goes back to wiping the bar down and cleaning out shot glasses, and Louis nurses his beer throughout the night.  It's a Tuesday night, so the bar was quiet, with soothing music flooding out of the speakers and hushed chatter coming from the corners. Every so often the entrance door's bell would ring and the scruff of someone's shoes against the hardwood floor could be heard.  The scrape of the bar stool's legs against the wood was loud and scratchy next to Louis, and a soft but deep voice rang out with a, "Can I get a beer, please? Thanks."

The blonde nods with a grin and hands the voice a beer. Louis looks out of the corner of his eye to see who the anonymous voice is. It's a boy, deep chocolate locks dripping down to his shoulders, and sunglasses pushing them back out of his face. And. His face is just.

It's the eighth world wonder. 

He's so  _ fucking gorgeous _ Louis can't stand it. Hints of facial hair around his mouth and his diamond-sharp jawline, and his forest green eyes snatch Louis' focus. Greek God turns and finds Louis staring and smirks, dimpling a little. Louis wants to lick tequila out of that dimple.

The man raises an eyebrow and says, "Need something, love?"

Louis splutters and shakes his head, turning to face his beer, taking a swig. He looks back over to fucking  _ Apollo _ and he's grinning like a maniac with fond eyes staring brightly at Louis, who's just slightly blushing, due to the alcohol he drank and the fact that  _ fucking Apollo _ is sitting right next to him. 

"Uh. Hi," Louis says, freaking out on the inside.

"Hello there," Apollo winks, his dimples full blown dimpled.  _ Fuck. _

"Hi, uh. Again. I'm Louis."  _ Way to go, dumbass. Nicely done, very eloquent. _

"'m Harry. Nice to meet you. Come here often?" Apol-  _ Harry  _ says. Harry can use 'come here often?' and  _ not _ sound like a douche, but sound endearing and nice. Of course. 

Harry the Endearing Fuck keeps the conversation flowing for thirty minutes or so, with little comments of, "Oh, Lou!" with a giggle (how can a grown man giggle and still look hot as fuck) and "Really? That's so cool, Lou." even when they're talking about Louis saving three bucks on a t-shirt at Topman.  It's going really swell, and Louis thinks he might get a good fuck and  _ more _ -

_ hey _

_ miss u _

_ cant stop thinking bout u _

_ call me  _

"Uh, Lou? You alright there, love?"

Louis shakes out of his fog from staring at the screen and looks back up to Harry. 

"Yeah! Yeah- um. I'm fine! I- just, um. I have to- piss."  _ Smooth. _

Harry furrows his brows slightly and nods. "Yeah, um. Okay. I'll see you around, then." He starts to get up from his seat, but Louis quickly grabs his arm, pulling him back down to the seat.

"Wha-"

"Look, I really like you, and I really,  _ really _ wasn't trying to get out of talking to you, I just, um, have to do something right now, okay?"

Harry's eyebrows are knitted together with confusion, but he nods anyway. "Uh, yeah- okay. That's- um. Fine. D-D'you  want me to stay here?" 

"Um, I-"

_ can u come over _

_ rlly need 2 tlk _

Louis sighs, and shakes his head. "No, I've got to get going, actually. Um, I'll give you my phone number? And you can call me- I mean, if you want to, no pressure- I promise! Just- um. Here." He asks for a pen from Blondie Bartender and grabs Harry's arm and moves his sleeve up, uncapping the pen and writing his number down, with a little  _ Call me cutie xx :) -Lou _ to boot.

He looks back up to Harry to notice that he's been staring at him with blown pupils. Louis gives a cheeky wink and gives Harry a kiss on the cheek, with a whisper of  _ bye, h. call me _ in his ear.  He jumps off his stool, throws some bills on the counter, and runs out of the bar.

_ babe _

_ pls call me _

_ lets tlk _

Louis groans in frustration, and dials his number as he walks down the dimly lit street. It takes a few rings before he picks up.

"Lou,  _ baby, _ how are you? 'm missin' you  _ so  _ much! Why'd we break up again? I can't remember.   _ Baby,  _ you should come over. Now,  _ that's _ a great idea. C'mon Lou-"

"Nick, you need to quit. We are  _ done. _ You cheated on me with your cliché as fuck  _ secretary. _ "

Nick attempts to cut in, "Baby what are you talkin' about? I didn't-"

" _ Oh _ , you can fuck right off. The day after New Year's you got drunk and showed me an  _ entire fucking album _ on your phone of him naked, with the title " _ Wanking Material" _ . Fuck you." Louis is right pissed now, absolutely livid as he storms down the street to his flat. A group of women walk past him, giving him odd looks. Louis flips them off.

" _ What? _ I-I, I don't-  _ oh, _ oh yeah! Michael's a great lay. Fuckin' hot, mate. "

Louis scoffs, "Thanks, Nick, but I don't really want to hear about your  _ great lay _ with Michael. Nick- look, just leave me alone. Okay? I'm done with you, done with your bullshit, and done with you texting me  _ drunk off your ass _ saying that you miss me.  _ Quit texting me. _ "

"Baby-"

Louis hangs up and sighs, hanging his head low, and walks home.

It's not his greatest night.

 

++

(He's sitting with Nick, both drunk to the high heavens, both rolling with laughter because of some stupid joke Louis told. The party they're at is loud, the bass booming through the house and shaking the pictures on the walls. They're talking about Nick's job now, and his new secretary.

"Lemme tell you, mate, Michael is amazin', not just at the job, but at giving head, too! Two for the price of one, I've gotta say." Nick slurs, laughing at his joke. 

Louis' humiliated. He feels completely sobered up. "W-what'd you say?"

Nick's completely confused. "Did you not hear what I said? Michael's great at givin' head."

Louis' eyes well up with tears, but he blinks them away. Nick keeps going.

"Yeah, mate, 've got pictures of him. 'Has a pretty cock, too."

He whips out his phone, unlocking it after three times of clumsy fingers, and brings up the photos, in an album titled, "Wanking Material."

Louis scoffs, and mutters under his breath, "'Wanking Material," how original." 

After scrolling through fifty or so pictures of Michael's frankly  _ ugly _ cock, Louis' tired of it. He's sick to his stomach. Nick's still scrolling.

"Okay, Nick- or should I say,  _ Asshole of the Millennia _ \-- we're done. I'm done with you and your cheating ass. Here's some advice. Lose my number." Louis storms out, Nick calling after him.)

 

++

 

(Louis stays in his bed for four days, living off of Gatorade and apple cinnamon fruit bars he bought after he left the party. When he comes out, Zayn says nothing, and cuddles Louis all day, watching the Kardashian sisters' fight all day. When Louis goes to piss he calls Liam for backup. They make a Louis-sandwich.)

(All Zayn gets to know is that Nick cheated and they're broken up with. Louis' too humiliated to tell him about Michael.)

 

++

 

"Boo, you've got to get up. We open the shop today."

Louis hides his face in the black pillow and grunts. "Don't wanna."

Zayn sighs, opens the blackout curtains, and flips Louis over, letting the light hit him directly in the face.

"What the fuck, mate?"

"Get up, Louis."

"Five more minutes, Mom."

Zayn rolls his eyes, "Fine, Boobear. Be ready in ten minutes." He treads out the door.

Louis blinks and sits up, rubbing his eyes. He stands and stretches his arms a little bit, trying to wake himself up. He finds a maroon scoop neck tee and some black skinnies to wear, and toes his black Vans on. Walking into the bathroom, he hears  _ Waterfalls _ by TLC playing in the kitchen. Zayn always plays it as he gets ready. It's tradition.

The mirror is still fogged up from Zayn's shower, so he grabs a towel off the floor and wipes it down. He brushes his teeth, wets his face with water and dries it off, and heads into the kitchen. Louis grabs two fruit bars ("Apple cinnamon is  _ clearly _ the best flavor, Zayniepoo,") and plops down on a barstool. 

"Li, I don't care which tie you wear tonight. Just pick one, and it'll be fine. Hell, you could wear your batman one and I wouldn't give a damn, okay?" Zayn comes in the room and sits next to Louis, giving him a look. Louis smirks.

"Babe, I've got to go- yeah I open the shop with Lou today. Bring us lunch. Love you too. Bye." Zayn hangs up, and turns to Louis. "Ready?"

Louis nods, and they walk out to Zayn's beat up 2002 Chevy Malibu. Zayn blasts his Paula Abdul  _ Greatest Hits  _ CD with the windows down. Louis stares out of the window, mind cluttered with thoughts of Nick, good and bad, and Harry.  He pulls his phone out, seeing he has no missed calls, turns his ringtone to the loudest setting, and sighs.

Zayn flicks his eyes over to him, and raises an eyebrow. "Y'alright, mate?"

Louis runs a hand through his hair, "Yeah, yeah. I- yeah."

Zayn, unimpressed, says, "Are you sure? You don't sound like it."

The dam breaks. 

"It's just- I went to the bar on 12th, right? And I sit at the bar, ask for a beer, and prepare myself for an uneventful night. I was _prepared_ , Zayn, _prepared_ for an uneventful night, but then Greek God Harry fuckin' struts in and sits himself down _right fucking next to me_ , and just- he says, 'Come here often?' And the thing is, he sounded so sweet and not douche-y at _all,_ Z! So we sit there and chat for half an hour, and then fucking _Nick Grimshaw_ texts me, drunk as hell, and he ruins it. He soiled it. He basically pissed in my cheerios, he ruined it that much! So I give Harry my number and tell him to call me, and I leave. I told him to call me, in a _very_ sexy voice, I might add, and he hasn't yet! Is there something wrong with me, Z? Am I not good enough?"

Zayn's quiet for a moment. "Fuckin' hell, mate. It's seven-thirty in the morning, give 'im some time if he's as great as you say."

Oh. He didn't realize it was seven-thirty.

He gives Zayn a sheepish look and turns to face the window again.

It's a quiet ride after that, other than Paula Abdul singing  _ Cold Hearted _ .

 

++

 

( _ He's a cold hearted snake look into his eyes _

_ Oh, oh he's been tellin’ lies he's a lover boy at play _

_ He don't play by the rules oh, oh, oh _

_ Girl don't play the fool now _ )

 

++

 

The buzz of the tattoo pen in Zayn's hand fills the silence of the almost empty store. It's been a pretty slow day, as usual, and Louis' had more than enough time on his hands to daydream and worry of Harry. Liam stopped by with lunch (BLT sandwiches from _ Mario's _ on the corner, as always), stayed for an hour, and left to head back to the hospital, since his patient was heading into surgery. He said he'd be back around four-thirty. It's three now, and Zayn's working on an infinity symbol behind an eighteen-year-old's ear. Laura, Lauren, whatever her name is, grimaces.

"Ah- um, is it supposed to sting?"

"Yep." Zayn says, wiping the excess ink away.

Louis' manning the cash register, pretending to count the money, but he's really just staring at his phone waiting for a signal from Harry.

The store phone goes off instead. Louis wants to cry.

He picks up the phone instead. "Hello, this is Black-Eyed Susan Tattoos. Can I help you?"

"Actually, I believe it's 'May I help you,' love," A deep voice drawls out. Louis furrows his brows, and scratches his cheek.

"Um. Who is this?"

An exaggerated gasp escapes the voice, "Lou, you haven't completely forgotten about me, have you, darling? After all we've been through?"

It's Harry. 

Harry the Fucking Eighth World Wonder calling him at the shop. How does he know where he works?

"Well, um, I asked Ni your last name after you left. And, well. I looked you up on Facebook? And I found out where you worked there."

Ah, okay. A little creepy, but it's sweet. At least he called at some point. Who's Ni?

"Oh! Niall's the bartender at the pub. He's a partner at it, I think. He's also my roommate."

Alright then. Well, does he want to make plans-

"Lou! Ring Lauren up, she's done." Zayn rudely interrupts Louis. He clearly does not want Louis to get married and have tons of babies with Harry. Rude.

Louis sighs, "H, give me a sec. I'll call you back in five minutes, top."

He can almost hear Harry nod before he says, "Oh, uh. Okay! I'll be waiting." He hears the cheekiness. He loves it. He says goodbye and hangs up.

"Can you ring me up now?" Lauren says, holding a card in her hand.

Louis nods, "Yeah, yeah. Credit or debit?"

++

 

(After Lauren leaves he calls Harry on his cell and they make plans to, um. Take a walk? Louis' not exactly sure- Harry said he had a plan.

They'll figure it out.)


	2. Chapter 2

++

The doorbell rings through Louis' flat, and he brushes his hair one more time, looks at the mirror to check his outfit is screaming  _ fuckmefuckmefuckme _ (it is), and slips his black Vans on. He jogs out to the living room and finds Zayn and Liam canoodling under a grey blanket, Zayn falling asleep as always, watching the last season of  _ The Bachelorette _ . Louis stops in front of the TV.

"Guys," Louis says.

Zayn grunts, and snuggles closer into Liam's chest. Liam pets his hair.

"Hello? Guys. Harry is waiting for me."

"So?"

"So, I need you to tell me if I look fuckable or not! Be honest."

Zayn's eyes flick up and down Louis' figure and nods. Liam agrees, "Yeah, mate. You look great, now go- you're making me miss who's getting the rose." Louis rolls his eyes, grabs his wallet and keys, and opens the door. And.

Harry looks fucking amazing. He's wearing his hair in a bun, a long black coat, a grey top, some black skinnies, and some suede boots that look like they've been worn a million times. Fucking hell, he's fit.

"Hi," Louis breathes, amazed at how a fucking Greek God is standing at his front door.

Harry smirks, amused. "Hi, love. You ready to go?"

Louis nods, "Yeah, I've got my stuff. You driving or me?"

"I brought my car, so we can take that. I've got a CD mix from sixth form in, so you're in for a treat." He winks. They walk to a black Range Rover, and Harry helps him in. Louis rubs his hands on the smooth pleather seats as Harry starts the car. The stereo plays a mix of Adele’s albums softly. 

“Ooh, Adele. I love her.”

Harry sheepishly grins, “Thank god. I forgot I was listening to the playlist on the way here, and I was praying that you liked her music.”

Louis laughs, “Yeah, yeah, babe. Even if I didn’t like her I would still pretend to to make you happy.”

Harry giggles a bit and drives out of the parking lot. He’s too fucking cute.

++

(Harry bombards Louis with the cutest pick up lines he's ever heard.

“Is your dad a preacher? Because boy, you’re a blessing.”

“Oh god,” Louis rolls his eyes.

“Are you made out of grapes? You are as fine as wine!”

“Harry, that was awful.”

“Okay, so this question’s been bugging me for a while.”

“Hit me.”

“Where do you hide your halo?”

There’s a pregnant pause.

“Oh lord,  _ Harold _ ,” Louis laughs.

It’s sickeningly cute.) 

++

They park in a high-rise garage, and take the elevator down to the ground level. Louis stares at Harry’s dimple the entire ride down.

I could write sonnets about that crater, he thought. Fucking award winning sonnets.

Harry drags him along the streets of Manhattan, his giant hand encompassing Louis’ wrist, until he finds a quaint little antique store with ancient teddy bears with blue fur and pink ribbons. They buy matching ones and name them Charlotte and Bobby. 

They’re in another store now, a pawn shop with bookshelves full of stuff no one needs. Louis stares at an old orange rotary phone with a smudged signature on the side, turning the dial slowly.

“Ooh! Lou, c’mere, come on! I found something,” A raspy voice comes from another bookshelf. Louis treads over, finding Harry gazing with wide eyes full of glee at a coffee mug.

“What’d you find?”

“A coffee mug, and a beanie baby pug! It’s a  _ mug and a pug _ !” 

And. Louis can’t even get on to him for the pun because he’s so goddamn happy with his pug in a mug, and he’s so goddamn cute. He smirks instead.

“So what, then? You gonna buy it for me and make me cherish it for the rest of my life?” He asks sarcastically. Harry turns to face him with the biggest shit-eating grin he’s ever seen.

“Oh,  _ hell _ yes.”

++

(Toto’s  _ Rosanna _ serenades the duo on their drive to The Creative Little Garden-- “It’s totally  _ amazing _ , Lou, I promise, you’ll love it,” and Louis’ having a lot of fun on their date. He can’t wait for the next one.)

++

Harry was right, Louis does love the garden spot he was brought to. Flourishing flowers flow around them, intertwining throughout and whistling through the breeze. Gardenias spread their scent and pull Louis and Harry over to them,  the two chatting quietly between themselves. 

“Harry?”

“Yea, Lou?”

“I want to do this again. Want to do it with me?”

“I’ll drive.”

“‘Kay,” Louis whispers, staring at Harry’s pink lips, “I’ll pay for gas.” Harry twists his pinky around Louis’ and strokes one of Louis’ high cheekbones, down to his jawline.

“Lou,” Harry breathes.

Louis wants to know how his lips feel against Harry’s, so he gently presses them to his. It’s not bright, blazing fireworks, it’s feeling the warmth of clothes just out of the dryer, and ocean breeze and citrus scented candles. Harry moans softly into the kiss, and moves his hand to the small of Louis’ back. They stand there for God knows how long, in front of the gardenias in a nook in the East Village.

Louis loved every bit of it.

++

(“Louis, you’re the mug to my pug.”

“Fuck off and take me home already.”)

++

Louis wakes up with the sun in his eyes because he forgot to close his curtains from the day before, and a crick in his neck due to a lumpy pillow from Walmart. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and grabs some sweats off the floor and walks out into the living room, putting them on one leg at a time.

Zayn and Liam are sitting at the breakfast bar, murmuring about Liam’s schedule for next week. Louis finds a mug of tea sitting next to a plate of english brekkie still steaming hot. He loves having a couple as a roommate. Zayn looks over to Louis, who just sat down next to him and nods.

“Well?” Zayn says, egging him on.

“Well, what? You’ve got to be specific, Zaynie, I’ve told you this before-”

“How’d it go with Harry?” Liam asks, slightly impatient and grumpy in the morning.

“Liam, I want to commend you for being specific. You should teach your boyfriend on the subject,” 

Zayn gives him a pointed look.

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you. It was  _ amazing _ , lads, amazing! He’s so fucking adorable but so  _ fucking hot _ at the same time and I can’t tell if I want to fuck him or sit and watch  _ When Harry Met Sally  _ with him or both,” Louis takes a breath, “He was so sweet and he really paid attention to me during the entire thing and he’s so endearing! He even fucking bought me a pug in a mug just because it  _ rhymed,  _ how stupid is that? But it’s so cute. 

“He took me to this garden nook that was almost thirty bucks per person, it was fucking expensive, but it was so worth it. It was gorgeous, and we stood in front of the gardenias for, like, half an hour, maybe? And we kissed, and it was  _ so, so _ nice. We have plans again next Friday.”

Liam’s perked up by now, and Zayn’s so amused by the word vomit from his roommate his can’t keep a grin off his face. They’re honestly happy for Louis, so happy that he’s over Grimshit and that he’s so captivated by this curly-haired boy. 

“Sounds like you had fun, Loubear. ‘M glad.” Zayn says. He and Liam start moving to the couch to pick up on  _ The Bachelorette _ , and Louis heads back to his room to grab his phone. 

There’s a message on it from  _ HazzaBoo(; _ \--  _ good morning love, hope u have a great day xx _

Louis legitimately  _ awws _ from it, and sends a quick  _ thanks boo hope you do too !! x _

Their texts get better from that point on.

++

(Harry has a cat named Laurent. Louis loves cats.

Louis really really likes Harry.)

++

The next two months after their date have been a dream. They spend half of their weeks with each other-- two-thirds doing nothing but cuddling and watching rom coms, one-third actually going on dates and things.  They go back and forth between staying at the others’ flat and they probably stay over too often, but. It’s okay. The sex is great too, they even waited until the third date (“I am a classy girl, Styles, what do you take me for?”) to get their groove on. Mostly it’s been blowies and handies, but they're gaining speed towards full-blown sexy times. Louis can’t wait.

Zayn and Liam have been getting serious, they’re talking about getting a dog together. They took Louis on one of their adventures to the pet shop, and Louis couldn’t stop playing with the cats. He wasn’t much help, but they’ve mostly decided on which dog they want to get. Zayn’s talking about going to get him today. 

“Lou!”

“Zayn!”

Zayn rolls his eyes, “D’you want to come with us to the pet shop?”

Louis thinks for a minute. I could stay home and catch up on the Kardashians, or I could look at the cats again. The cats win. “Give me a minute!” He slides some sweats and his Vans on, and runs his fingers through his hair a couple times.  

He jogs out of his room, shuts the front door and locks it, runs down the stairs, and out the front doors of the complex. He’s impressed by how it didn’t take very long. He’s unimpressed by how out of shape he is at the moment.

“You gonna get in the car?”

He decides on how he’s going to prank Zayn once they get back, and gets in the backseat.

++ 

Liam and Zayn find the small black and brown rottweiler puppy they’ve been looking at for a couple of days, and sit with them between their folded legs, petting him softly. Louis’ off petting the cats again.

“What’re we gonna name him, babe?”

“Dunno. Dog?”

Liam scoffs, rubbing behind the puppy’s ear. “What about Bernard?”

“Where’d that come from?”

“Just thought it’d be a nice name. What d’you think?”

Zayn looks down, the dog nipping at his fingers.

“Let’s take Bernard home.”

++

(Louis picks out all of Bernard’s things, from the pet bed to the dog treats. 

“He’s living in my flat too, so I should be able to pick something out too!”

Zayn doesn’t care, and Liam helps him find the healthy dog food.)

++

Zayn and Liam are visiting Liam’s parents in upper New York for the weekend, and they couldn’t take Bernard, so they enlist Louis and Harry to babysit.

Saturday is pretty uneventful, Bernie slept most of the day, and Louis had to work at the shop, leaving Harry alone with  _ 13 Going on 30  _ playing on repeat. Sunday, however, is much better.

Louis wakes up to Harry plastered to his side, strands of curly hair in his mouth, and puffs of hot air being blown onto his shoulder. Harry covers him up almost completely, his legs laying over Louis’ and hanging off the bed, his arms snaked around Louis’ waist. Bernard’s sleeping out in the living room, close to the door, waiting for Mom and Dad to come home.

Harry’s softly snoring in his ear, the curtains are closed enough to where the sun isn’t blinding him, and he has nothing planned for today. It’s looking to be a great day.

Harry stops, and lets out a short breath, eyes fluttering open. Louis’ learned that’s how he always wakes up-- short and quick. Louis looks down at him, sleep still intertwined within the irises of his green green eyes, and kisses his temple.

Harry grins sleepily, “Hi, Boo,”

“Hi, love. You ready to get up, or do you wanna stay in a little longer? ‘S up to you.” He scratches Harry’s scalp and runs his fingers through the slightly oily curls. They need to shower today.

Harry preens at the touch and scoots closer to Louis, his entire body now on top of Louis. “Let’s stay in for just a bit.”

He nods, and cuddles into the chocolate locks, closing his eyes.

Harry moves around, and ducks under the duvet, shimmying around to get between Louis’ knees. He pops back up to cuddle. Louis wraps his arms around Harry, and scratches behind his ear. 

“Mmm, you’re making me purr,” Harry says, meowing.

“So, you’re into the kitten play?”

“Mmmph,” Harry grunts.

Louis giggles and runs his finger through his hair. “I didn’t know I had such a kinky boyfriend,”

Harry laughs, looking up at him “Well buckle up, you’re in for a wild ride-”

Louis cuts him off with a soft kiss. They do that alot-- cutting each other off with kisses. Harry smiles, making their teeth clack together.

Neither of them really mind.

++


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Louis scoffs, “Come on, Haz.”_
> 
>  
> 
> _Harry ignores him, watching the television._
> 
>  
> 
> _“Are you seriously still mad?”_

++

Bernard barks loudly, squeaking a bit, and runs after the ball down the hallway. Harry smiles, patting his hands on the carpeted living room floor.

“C’mon, Bernie! Bring the ball back,” Harry shouts.

Louis lay on the couch, strung out with his feet hanging off, humming softly. Bernard darts down the hallway with a small tennis ball in his mouth, running to Harry happily. Harry’s face lights up and pets Bernie all over, praising him. He throws the ball back down the hall.

After a while, Bernard goes to take a nap in his pet bed, and Harry worms himself under Louis and wraps his arm around him. It’s quiet for a couple of minutes.

Then, “You know, I could see us getting a cat together.”

Harry nods, “Get a little friend for Laurent, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Louis twinkles.

++

(Zayn and Liam come home to find Louis half off the couch, Harry lying strewn out on top of him, and Bernard at the couple’s feet. They probably won’t punish Bern for lying on the couch this time, he’s just too cute.

After Harry and Louis wake up, they find warm mugs of tea on the coffee table and a note reading: _Thanks, we’ll take Laurent next weekend. xx_ )

++

Well, their happiness lasted a good three months before Nicholas Dickwad Grimshaw had to come in and ruin it.

They’re at a party, sitting on a couch speaking in hushed tones with red solo cups in their hands. Harry drags his finger along Louis’ arm, the alcohol settling in. Louis can’t take his eyes off of Harry, his boy, his--

“Oi, Louis! It’s me, mate!”

Damnit.

Louis tries to ignore it, but Harry, being the most polite boy in the world, nudges him with his foot. _Be nice_ , he mouths. Louis rolls his eyes and turns, wincing. It’s Nick.

“Hi, Asshole. What do you want?”

“Oh, Louis, don’t be like that! Don’t want to be rude in front of your boy toy, now, do you?” He’s hanging off some guy, presumably Michael, who’s checking out some girl with big tits.

What a happy couple.

Harry scoots closer to Louis, grumbling slightly, “Who is this, Lou?”

Louis turns to Harry, ignoring Nick, “Oh, he’s just my asshole ex-boyfriend who cheated on me with his secretary for five-and-a-half months. You don’t want to know him.”

Nick scoffs, “Oh, boohoo, you whore. Get over it. Michael was a better lay than you, anyway. So, have you started picking fights yet, or are you not there yet? Or, even better, have you started completely walking out during fights? Remember when you left me at a party and made me find another way home, or when you ran out of the flat and didn’t come back for a week? I do.”

Louis fidgets. He’s not proud of that. Harry rubs his thumb across his knuckles.

“Got nothin’ to say, huh? That’s strange, since you always have opinions on every little thing, whether it be what shampoo I used or what size coffee mugs we had. It was fucking _bullshit_ , and I’m so happy that we’re done.” Nick smirks.

That sets Louis off. “Fuck right off, asshat. _I’m_ the one who broke up with you, and _you’re_ the one who fucking cheated on me. Fuck you, and leave me alone.” He stands up, bringing Harry with him, and storms out of the house. Harry struggles along, trying to keep up.

“Lou,” Harry says, catching his breath, “Lou, slow down, let me catch up. Lou, stop, please!”

Louis sighs, and stops under a street lamp. Harry drops his hand, catching his breath and fanning himself. “Jesus, Louis, you’ve got to take a minute.”

Louis frowns, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, H. I just got pissed off.”

Harry nods, “You can’t just drag me along like that, okay? Now, d’you wanna go home and talk?”

“Please.”

++

(Before they get to Harry’s apartment, they stop at the convenience store nearby. They buy dollar-bin movies, a tub of chocolate fudge ice cream, and some graham crackers.

Laurent greets them at the door, and follows the two to the bedroom, curling up on Harry’s pillows.)

++

After laying in the soft bed for a bit, munching on graham crackers and ice cream, Harry brings it up. They’re staring at each other, hands cuddled in between them.

“So, what happened?”

Louis sniffles, thinking. “Well, um. Nick was my ex before you, and, um, he cheated on me with his secretary, and I broke up with him,” he laughs bitterly, “We were at a party, and he showed me his ‘wank bank,’ full of Michael’s dick. He raved and raved about Michael, and I couldn’t take it, so I broke up with him.”

Harry looks at him with sad eyes, squeezing his hand firmly.

“Yeah, um. It kind of sucked. You know that first night we met, where I had to leave? It was because of him-- he kept texting me drunkenly and wouldn’t stop, and I was getting pissed off. Sorry about leaving, though. Dick move on my part, really.”

Harry beams, “It’s okay. Forgotten already. Thank you for telling me, I’m really happy that we’re this close.”

Louis pecks his lips and snuggles closer to Harry, sniffling quietly.

“I think ‘m getting sick.”

“Oh, boy.”

++

(Louis does get sick.

He complains the entire time, having Harry treat on hand and foot 24/7. From soup to warm fuzzy socks and _Clueless_ , Louis is treated like the king of the world. Harry doesn’t stop asking if he needs anything, “Do you need a warm towel? Any more soup?”

Louis agrees to everything, relishing in the affection. They re-watch _Clueless_ over and over again, with Harry shutting the world out from the two and cuddling and smushing Louis up against him.)

++

“They’re gonna hate me.”

“No they won’t.”

“Yes they are! I’m a fucking punk with a useless college degree who owns a tattoo shop-- if your kid was bringing me to meet you, would you like me?”

“I’d be just fine with it, thank you very much.”

Louis scoffs, “Okay, sure.”

Harry turns to look at him with squinted eyes. Louis’ fully submerged into a blanket, trying to sink into the passenger seat. It’s pathetic. “Don’t get an attitude right now, Louis. I want this to be a nice day for us.”

“Easy for you to say, everybody loves you no matter what.”

“Louis. They’re gonna love you, so stop with the negativity, and stop being a baby.”

"You're seriously calling me a baby?"

"Yes, you're acting like one. Get over this, they'll love you."

"Yeah, whatever. They'll love me when pigs fly."

"You're ruining this trip, Louis. Stop it."

Louis grunts and turns the volume of the radio up, drowning the insecurities flowing through his mind out. Harry stole Zayn’s _Fleetwood Mac_ CD a couple of weeks ago, listening to it on repeat. _Rhiannon_ plays a little louder now.

They’re quiet for the rest of the drive.

++

( _Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night and_

_Wouldn't you love to love her?_ _Takes to the sky like a bird in flight and_ _Who will be her lover?_

_All your life you've never seen_ _A woman taken by the wind_ _Would you stay if she promised you heaven?_ _Will you ever win?)_

++

They make it to Woodstock quickly, having spoken little to each other after Louis’ meltdown. Harry asked him for a tissue, Louis gave it to him. Harry asked him if he wanted anything to drink when they stopped at the gas station, Louis said no. Louis asked Harry to turn the AC down, Harry did.

It was awkward, to say the least.

The fact is, this is one of the few ‘fights’ they’ve had, if you could even call it that. They don’t fight much, but when they do it’s usually a free-for-all. They dig up past things they know will hurt each other, and neither of them really win. This one, however, is silent. Angered glances and furrowed brows laced with mean are tossed around, but they don’t say anything. They act nice.

Harry knocks on the distressed front door as Louis brings up the rear with his suitcase and Harry’s duffel bag. Anne opens the door slowly and sees Harry, squealing.

“Oh, Harry! How are you, love? Hope Manhattan’s treating you well,” Anne looks over to Louis, “Oh, _oh_! This must be Louis, right? Lovely to meet you, ‘m Anne.”

Louis goes in for a handshake with a polite smile, but Anne drags him into a big hug, chirping in his ear, welcoming him. Louis flushes slightly and moves back to Harry’s side.

“Well, don’t just stand there! Come in, come in-- Robin’ll take your bags up to Harry’s old room,” Anne says as she ushers them in, with Robin grabbing their suitcase and duffel out of their hands. She drags the duo into the living room, hands the television remote to Harry, and walks out to the kitchen. Louis sits on the left side of the couch, leaving ample room between them. He scrolls through his Twitter feed silently as Harry changes it to a _Friends_ re-run. There’s an awkward air in the room.

They don’t try to change it.

Half an hour later, Anne comes blundering through with a plate of snickerdoodles and brownies, setting the platter on the coffee table. She takes one look at them and sighs.

“Why is there an ocean between you two? Act like you like each other at least,” She jokes, trying to lighten the mood. Harry grins and pats the space beside him, looking towards Louis. He waggles his eyebrow. Louis rolls his eyes and moves over, drawing in his knees onto the couch, resting his head on Harry’s shoulder. He continues to scroll on his phone, now on Instagram. Anne smiles widely and places her hands on her hips, looking very accomplished. She nods and leaves the room.

Harry shifts away from him, closer to the edge of the couch.

Louis scoffs, “Come on, Haz.”

Harry ignores him, watching the television.

“Are you seriously still mad?”

Harry glares at Louis, “Yes I am, Louis. You decided to act like a brat on the way here, and there was no reason for it.”

“Look who’s acting like a baby now,” Louis grumbles under his breath.

“What?”

“Nothing, dear, nothing. I’m going to go take a nap.” He stands and strides out of the room and up the stairs to Harry’s childhood bedroom.

The room is painted a dark blue, with a light cream carpeted floor. The room is small, quaint, but comfortable. There’s a king-sized bed on the wall opposite the door, with black and grey plaid sheets. A desk and a closet are on the left wall, both dark wood, and on the desk are framed pictures of Harry and his family. Louis treads over to the frames, looking at them all one-by-one, smiling at how cute Harry was as a kid. One shows Harry posing for a solo soccer photo, with one foot on a ball and his hands on his hips.

“That one’s my favorite,” Anne says from the doorway, “He was so happy they put him on the soccer team, even if he was a benchwarmer.” She chuckles softly at the memory, a bright glint in her eyes.

“Oh, um. I wasn’t trying to snoop, or anything, I swear! I came in here to take a nap,” Louis sweats.

Anne shakes her head, “You’re fine, dear. I know traveling can be tiring, I just wanted to make sure you found your way to his room.”

Louis blushes, “Oh, well, um. Thank you.”

Anne smiles and leaves, shutting the door behind her.

Louis exhales, and throws himself on the bed. He falls asleep quickly.

++

(Louis naps for a couple of hours while Harry and Anne speak in the kitchen quietly.

Anne asks questions. Harry hesitates on replying and shrugs them off.

Robin watches the football game.

Harry heads up to the guest room to nap.)

++

When Louis wakes up, the house is quiet. He hears the overhead fan in the kitchen whirring loudly, and soft chatter from the TV in the living room. When he heads into the hallway, he hears quiet snores coming from a bedroom farther down. He tip-toes down and peeks his head into the room, finding Harry asleep on a queen bed with beige sheets covering him up to his shoulders.

His eyebrows furrow slightly as he frowns at the sight. _He couldn’t even bear to sleep in the same room as me? Prick,_ he thinks.

“Whatever,” He whispers to himself, going out to the living room and walking straight into the kitchen. Anne’s hovering over the stove, stirring multiple pots and checking the oven every now and then. She hums and turns to see Louis.

“Oh, Louis! How was your nap, honey?”

“It was great, thank you,” Louis smiles.

Anne waves her hand about. “No reason to thank me, I didn’t do anything. D’you want to help me with dinner? It’s up to you,”

“Sure.”

She sets him up with slicing the carrots and potatoes to go in the stew. He focuses his energy on cutting so as to not think of Harry and the mess of their relationship right now. Anne keeps the conversation flowing between them, moving from college to family and friends to sports and hobbies. She compliments his choice sports teams and commends him for being a family man.

Harry sleepwalks into the room, hair flying everywhere, yawning softly.

“Hi, love. Louis was just helping me make dinner, how lovely, right? I would ask you to help him, but you’re still half asleep and I don’t want to go to the emergency room tonight,” Anne chuckles, “Just grab a stool and hand him the veggies until you wake up.”

Harry nods stiffly, and Louis hasn’t looked up at him yet. He hears the stool legs scratch along the tiles only to stop next to him and he feels Harry’s mop of curls hit his shoulder and he’s sat himself very close and-

“Shit!”

++

(Four stitches and a half an hour later, Anne is driving Louis and Harry to the grocer to pick up some last minute brown sugar for the turkey. Harry grumpily stalks behind Louis and Anne, the air tense and quiet.

It’s uncomfortable for everyone.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lookie lookie!!!! i wrote angst and it sucks but you know who cares.
> 
> here is my [Tumblr](http://bullet-in-thedark.tumblr.com/) if you want!! i'll chat your ass off (;
> 
> this definitely won't be updated as quickly as it has been right now, i have a lot on my plate for the next two weeks, but i will try my hardest to give you a couple of updates throughout this mess!
> 
> <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another chapter.
> 
> Here's my [Tumblr.](http://bullet-in-thedark.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Enjoy! xx

++

Louis is sitting between Harry and his sister, Gemma, during dinner. Gemma’s like him: boisterous and loud, a little obnoxious, but very witty and able to keep the conversation going. He likes Gemma a lot.

Harry and Louis keep it civil, chatting quietly amongst themselves about bullshit they don’t care about, throwing glances and affections to keep up the facade of ‘happy happy couple.’

“Has H told you about his eighth grade dance where he ripped his pants from dancing too hard? It was _hilarious_ , I even got it on video!” Gemma snorts and brings it up on her phone as Harry, completely red in the face, tries to yank it out of her hands.

“ _Gem_ ,” He whines.

“Oh, come on love, it can’t be that bad,” Louis soothes, patting his knee. Harry shifts slightly away, visibly uncomfortable. Louis frowns, blinking away small tears as he turns back to Gemma and the video.

It was bad.

Harry’s pants ripped from seam to seam, splitting the pants almost completely into two pieces. Gemma is heard dying of laughter in the background as Harry runs out of the shot.

Louis snickers as he looks back to Harry, who’s distant and grumpy. He rolls his eyes.

++

(“D’you remember when when went to Cedar Point and you threw up on a girl’s shoes?” Gemma asks Harry, laughing hard.

“Yeah, yeah.” Harry waves it off, sucking in his irritation.

"And the time you tripped on your shoelaces and fell onto the cake at Aunt Carol's third wedding?"

"Yep, I do. I was there." Harry grumbles, his scowl growing quickly.

Louis frowns.)

++

After dinner and watching the big game, Harry and Louis head up to bed. They walk into Harry’s bedroom together, and as Louis plops onto the bed, Harry grabs his things.

“Where are you going?” Louis asks confusedly.

“‘m gonna stay in the guest bedroom, I think,” Harry says absently, grabbing a pillow.

Louis scoffs, “Are you fucking serious? You won’t even share a bed with me, and you’re calling me childish?”

Harry stands to glare at Louis, “Yes, I am. You’ve almost completely ruined this trip for me with your bad attitude and your egging Gemma on with reliving embarrassing points in my life that I’d rather not remember. So, yeah, I’d really rather not share a bed with you right now.”

“You say that like everything that’s gone wrong has been my fault.”

“Am I wrong? _You_ had a bad attitude, _you_ made us have to go to Urgent Care at seven o’clock at night, and, um, yeah, _you_ were the one snickering over humiliating parts of my childhood with Gemma!” Harry spits.

“Oh, get over it already, Harry! We were kidding around and having a good time, that’s what you're supposed to do when you meet the family _._ Your family is supposed to show me embarrassing kiddie moments and I’m supposed to comment on how cute you were, and you’re _supposed_ to get embarrassed! You’ve done this before, so why is this time any different?”

Harry stops, shaking his head. “Because every other time my boyfriend wasn’t a little bitch in the drive over and didn’t ruin my mood.” He grabs his duffel and walks out, shutting the door.

Louis cries into the pillows.

++

(What they didn’t know is that Gemma and Anne were sitting at the bottom of the stairs, hearing every insult and jab.

“What is up with H? I mean, that was just rude,” Gemma whispers.

“I don’t know, but it’s clear something’s wrong,” Anne sighs.

“Who’s talking to who and fixing this whole mess?”

“I’ll take Louis.”)

++

“Harry you have ten seconds to open this door before I kick it down, punch you, and make you put it back on it’s hinges,” Gemma yells from the other side of the door.

Harry sighs, and reaches his hand up to the knob. She tries to open the door, but hits him.

“H, why are you on the floor in front of the door?”

“I’m an asshole.”

A pause. “Yeah, judging from that screaming match, you’re a dick.”

“Why did I even say that, Gems? He’s so sweet to me, and I’ve been a complete douchebag this entire trip.”

Gemma scoots into the room and sits next to Harry on the carpet. She pats his knee.

“So, what are you gonna do about it?”

++

(Anne finds Louis face down on the bed, curled up into a small, broken shell of himself. She sits on the bed, and rubs his shoulder softly, trying to stir him soothingly.

“Louis? Wake up, dearie, I would like to talk to you, Louis,” Anne says softly, as Louis slowly wakes.

“Hmmmmm, mmphm,”

“Can you sit up, please? Thanks, much, Louis. I just wanted to apologize for Harry, he’s not acting like himself, and I wanted to ask how you’re doing.”

“I feel like-- pardon my French-- complete and utter shit.”

“I probably would too if Robin called me a little bitch,” Anne says. Louis is stunned. “Anyways, let’s get your mind off that, will you come help me clean up?”

“Sure.”)

 

++

With Anne washing and Louis drying the dishes and putting them away, Gemma comes down the stairs with a smile on her face.

“How’s, um…” Anne trails off, looking to the sink. Gemma grins.

“Louis, I can take over for you. Go on back upstairs, I’m sure you’re tired from today.” Gemma says, a little too sweetly.

Louis furrows his brows, “Um… alright. Goodnight, then.”

Gemma takes the rag and the plate from Louis and stands next to Anne as Louis heads upstairs.

“So? What happened?”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

++

(Robin remains oblivious to everything going on, as his football team is coasting on winning the game.)

++

Harry’s childhood bedroom is comfortable.

The dark blue curtains close off the room from any light fairly well, and the memory foam mattress lets Louis sink into the bed soothingly. He relaxes quietly as he watches last week’s episode of _The Bachelor_ on his phone with headphones, slowly falling into the deep lull of sleep.

“Louis?”

Louis looks up towards the door to see Harry standing in the frame.

“Yes?”

Harry sighs and looks down. “I’m an asshole.”

“Yep.”

“And I said things I didn’t mean.”

“And by ‘things,’ you mean calling me a little bitch?”

Another sigh. “...Yeah.”

Louis moves over towards the edge of the bed. “D’you wanna sleep in here, or are you going to continue being an asshole and sleep in the guest bedroom?”

“I wanna sleep in here. Please.”

“C’mon. You’re big spoon tonight.”

“Okay. Sorry, again.”

Harry slips into the bed and wraps his arms around Louis.

“Shh, I wanna see who doesn’t get a rose tonight.”

++

(The next day the two pack their things back into Harry’s car, and say their goodbyes to their family.

“Ooh, it was so lovely to meet you, dearie. Keep Harry in line, okay?” Anne squishes Louis with an overpowering hug. Gemma’s fake-sobbing with Harry.

“Oh, Harry, I’ll just miss you so much! What ever will I do without my baby brother?” Gemma weeps, woefully throwing her arms around Harry.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be fine, Gems. You’ve got what’s his name-- um, Kevin, right? No, Kyle?”

“It’s _Chris_ , you ass. You knew that, we’ve been dating for a year already.”

“What? Really?” Harry drags out the _wha_ sarcastically.

Gemma swats the back of his head.)

++

They're getting better slowly. It's barely awkward, they're never awkward around each other, even when fighting. Harry gives Louis a quick glance before hugging him or giving him a kiss, trying not to overstep any boundaries that have formed.

It's okay. They’ll get better.

++

(Zayn lunges towards Harry as soon as they arrive home, aiming for a punch to the jaw. Luckily, Liam is able to hold him back as Harry darts behind Louis for cover.

“Zayn! _Zee,_ it’s all good!  We like Harry.” Louis goes up to Zayn, grabbing his arms to get him to focus.

“He was a dick, he deserves to be treated like one.” Zayn argues, huffing but now has settled down. He rolls the cuffs of his shirt sleeves up a few times.

“Yeah, yeah, I get that, but I was a bitch, so it’s good. _We’re_ good. Okay?” Louis grabs Harry’s hand from behind him. Harry smiles into his shoulder.

Zayn rolls his eyes, walks down the stairs to his car, and gets in, slamming the door. Liam scratches the back of his head.

“Um… He’ll be over this in a few days. Promise.” Liam says, nodding to himself.

“‘Kay,” Louis agrees, finding his keys to open the door as Harry picks up their luggage from off of the ground. Liam heads for Zayn’s car.)

(Zayn gets over it when Harry bakes him lemon cookies with powdered sugar on top.)

++


	5. Chapter 5

++

Harry’s nervous. He’s been walking on eggshells around Louis, praying to anything out there that he won’t break up with him for his stupid selfish actions at his parents’ house. 

He’s prayed to three religious figures, now. It’s bad. 

He makes Louis breakfast every morning, from omelettes to a french toast with fresh strawberries to boot, he compliments everything Louis does, says, or wears, and he’s always asking if Louis needs anything (“Anything I can help with, Lou?” “Still the same answer it was five minutes ago-- No, H.”)

Louis thinks this entire situation is dumb. Well, dumb, but cute. It’s nice that he’s really trying. 

But enough is enough.

They’re in the kitchen just after eating the omelettes Harry had just made, now with Harry washing the dishes. Louis tried to help, but Harry shushed him and made him go sit at the breakfast bar.

“Okay, H, seriously, this has got to stop.”

Harry freezes, stops scrubbing on the plate, and holds his breath. He sets the dish and rag on the counter next to him, and slowly turns around to face his boyfriend.

“Wh-What are you talking about?” Harry sweats nervously.

“This act you’re performing! The last I knew, we were in a relationship. This isn’t one right now.”

Harry scratches the back of his neck, resting his other hand on the counter. “I’m not sure what you mean…”

“Really? You’re waiting on me hand and foot, like a maid!” Louis puffs out heavily.

“No, no, I’m just making sure everything’s good for you. I want you to be happy, Lou!” He goofily smiles.

“Well, this isn’t making me happy. You’re wrapping so much time around me, I’m not even sure if you’re still on top of your coursework and studying. You go to  _ Columbia _ , Harry, a prestigious  _ Ivy League  _ school, and you’re spending all your time trying to please a 25 year-old who works at a tattoo shop in Manhattan when you  _ should _ be spending all of your time studying and doing homework for school! I’m fed up with it, H!” Louis slams his fist on the bar, Harry looking at the floor.

Louis crosses his arms and leans back into his chair. Harry nervously scratches at the counter top. He breathes through his nose.

“I’m sorry.”

Louis nods.

“I just don’t want you to break up with me! I mean, I was an asshole at my parents’ house, and I have no idea how you forgave me so quickly. Seriously, Lou! I have no  _ clue _ how you’re still letting me into your house, to be honest. I still feel like a dick, so I just tried to make you the happiest I could, I guess? I don’t really have any good reasoning for this whole thing. I’ll go now, and leave you alone for a while if you want,” Harry rambles, pushing off the counter and moving to collect his things.

“Now, I didn’t say I wanted that, did I?”

Harry turns to look back to a smirking Louis, who’s much closer to him than before. His piercing blue eyes burn into Harry’s own, making him flush slightly. Louis runs his hand along Harry’s arm, feeling the goosebumps pop up slowly.

“Lou…” Harry breathes, his eyes lidded with lust.

Louis moves closer, close enough to see the light hairs circling Harry’s luscious pink, pink mouth, close enough to feel Harry’s hot breath on his face, so close--

Harry moves in and captures his mouth in an intense heat, warmth spreading through his body. He runs his hands over Louis’ body, whimpering when Louis grabs fistfuls of his hair. The kiss is sloppy and wet, but so, so  _ hot. _ It feels like flames are licking throughout his mouth and Harry’s just. He’s so ready for this-

Louis pulls back fast, having Harry’s bookbag in his hand. Harry tries to follow, but he stops him with a touch on his chest. 

“I think you have some studying to do, Mister.”

Harry’s stunned. “B-But--”  _ We were going to fuck. _

“No buts, baby. You’re already occupied. Now, go on. Head over to the library, I texted your study group twenty minutes ago, so you’ll be a few minutes late.” Louis helps Harry put his bag on, seeing as Harry is completely confused and so sad.  _ We were going to fuck _ .

Louis walks him to the door, gives him a peck on the cheek and a spank to the arse, and shuts the door behind him.

_ What in the hell just happened? _

++

(Louis spends the rest of his day looking at couple’s tattoos, catching up on  _ The Bachelor, _ and texting his sisters. Harry has to sit through a study group with the biggest hard-on he’s ever had.

It’s been a quiet day, so far.)

++

Louis gets to pick the date this week. He’s keeping it from Harry (“Oh,  _ come on _ , Lou, I’m going on the date! I should know what we’re doing!” “You’ll find out when we go on it! Dress casual--  _ my _ kind of casual, not yours, you posh momma’s boy,”). It’s not that hard.

When Louis arrives at Harry’s place, Harry’s wearing his hair in a bun, with black skinnies, black glitter boots, and a mesh black shirt. He’s got all of his rings and necklaces on, and he even popped in his clip on cross earring tonight.

He’s the epitome of sex.

Louis grins, looking at him up and down. “I thought I said casual, not trying to pull.”

Harry blushes and grabs a jacket from his coat rack and shuts the door behind him. “Leave me alone, you hobo.” And, well. He’s not wrong. Louis hasn’t shaved in a couple of weeks and his beard is starting to get straggly. His shirt has at least three stains on it, but he’s discreetly covered them up with a beat-up jean jacket. He stole some of Zayn’s-- Liam’s?-- joggers and he has no socks on in his black Vans.

“Styles, do you want this date to happen? You’re not sounding like it.”

He laughs, covering his mouth after a short burst. “Let’s go, babycakes.” 

“Babycakes?” They stop to wait in front of the elevator. A little girl and her mother are standing close to them, the little girl napping on her mom’s shoulder. The mom tries to watch them discreetly, with a soft smile on her face.

“Yes. I’ve decided that is your new nickname. It could even be your stage name,” Harry takes a big breath, “ _ And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… Babycakes!” _ Harry deepens his voice like an announcer, and cheers. 

It’s about the dumbest thing he’s done in public. Louis is absolutely smitten with it.

“Yeah, okay, Sugarplum.” Louis says with a huge grin, crinkles popping around his eyes. Harry blushes slightly from the loving gaze. The elevator doors open, and they walk in. A man runs in the elevator before the doors finish closing, looking wildly out of breath. He stands near the front of the elevator, away from everyone. Harry silently clutches Louis’ pinky with his own, smiling and looking towards the ceiling.

The ride down is quite pleasant.

++

(Louis walks slightly in front of Harry, leading him to  _ Ellen’s Stardust Diner _ , where he’s lied to the staff and said it’s Harry’s birthday today. They bring out a large Rainbow Sundae and sing him  _ Happy Birthday _ in a three-part harmony. It’s lovely. 

They’ve finished dinner now, and they’re walking on the streets again. Harry doesn’t know where they’re going still, but he’s okay with it.)

++

“Here we are!” Louis smiles, looking up at Harry and pointing to the theater in front of them.

“Um… why are we here, exactly?”

“To see a concert, duh,” Louis says, rolling his eyes. 

“So who's performing?”

“Four or so groups, I think.” 

Harry nods as Louis finds the tickets. They get in the back of the line behind a group of girls with dyed hair and multiple piercings. One smokes a cigarette and another holds a small plushie of a dog. 

“I wonder if they know each other,” Harry whispers in Louis’ ear, his hot breath bring goosebumps with it. Louis shrugs and shuffles around, wrapping his arm around Harry's waist. He rests his head on Harry's chest, shutting his eyes for a moment.

“I dunno,” Louis says a little blandly, “They don't seem that close.”

Harry shrugs, resting his chin on Louis’ head. “You never know. Friends come from weird places.”

Louis rolls his eyes, “Oh, yeah? Where have your friends come from?”

“Well, I met Niall when I was at a protest for animal rights,” Harry states. “He was there for the free cookies, not to protest, though.”

“Obviously, we’re talking about Niall.”

“Yeah, I guess. I saw him sneaking cookies into his hoodie pocket and asked if he wanted some help, and we lived happily ever after,” Harry sighs dreamily.

Louis scoffs. “Happily ever after my ass.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I didn’t even know the definition of happy until you came into my life.” Harry places a kiss in his hair, and. Well.

He’s smooth as fuck.

Harry grins. “I know.”

“I said that aloud, didn’t I?”

“Yep, you did.”

Louis doesn’t really care.

++

(The concert’s really nice. An unnamed girl ends off the show with a ukelele and a stool center stage, singly softly, lyrics lulling everyone into a deep, quiet mood. She sings a cover of  _ Just Like a Star _ , by Corinne Bailey Rae to finish the concert, thanks the crowd, and floats off to backstage.

Now Harry and Louis are back on the streets of Manhattan, wandering. Harry hums the song, singing a couple of the lyrics every now and then. Louis smiles, eyes closing as Harry keeps him moving. It’s really,  _ really _ , good.)

++

( _ Just like a star across my sky,  _

_ Just like an angel off the page _

_ You have appeared to my life _

_ Feel like I’ll never be the same _

_ Just like a song in my heart _

_ Just like oil on my hands, _

_“Oh, I do love you,”_ _Harry murmurs._ )

++

“Where are we going now?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon,” Louis grins, “You’re gonna love it.”

They walk a few blocks, and stop in front of  _ Black-Eyed Susan Tattoos _ . Harry’s very confused.

“Um. Lou?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are we at the shop?”

“Why would we be at a tattoo shop?”

And. It takes a minute.

“Lou.  _ Lou. _ ”

“Yes?”

“Are you serious? You’re getting a tattoo?”

Louis chuckles, “Well, that’s kind of why we’re at a tattoo shop today, love. Glad you’re back on the same page again.”

They walk in and see Zayn flipping through his stencil notebook with a bored look on his face. He looks up when the bell rings. He smirks and turns around in his stool to face the chair.

“Hey, guys. You ready, Louis?” 

“Yep!” Louis plops in the chair and rolls up his left sleeve. Harry raises a brow and rests against the door frame.

“What are you getting?”

Louis looks at Harry with an unimpressed look. “It’s a surprise, duh. Now turn around.”

Harry guffaws, Louis doesn’t change his face. He finally turns and faces the window, looking out, seeing the reflected light from the fan and seeing dark characters rush past. He sits there for couple hours or so, going from sitting and standing, from looking out the window and people watching to checking Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and Twitter again and  _ Jesus, _ how long does a tattoo take? And--

“H? We’re done.”

Harry flips around in a flash. “Really? Can I see it now?”

“Nope. It’s a surprise, dork. I’ll show it to you in a few days. Make you wait for it.” He winks. Harry groans.

“Can we get some sour gummy worms on the way home?” Louis asks as he stands and rolls his sleeve back down slowly.

“Sure.”

++

(Harry holds the bag of candy between them, each slowly munching on them as they walk home.

“This was a really nice date, Lou. You did good.”

“Yeah, I know.” He says with his mouth full and grabs another worm. 

And. Something about sour gummy worms and late night walking home in Manhattan just really makes Harry want to move in with him. He doesn’t bring it up. Instead, he smiles and grabs Louis’ free hand, lacing them together.

It’s a cold night, but Louis keeps him warm.)

++

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you see any mistakes, I didn't have time to edit before posting :l
> 
> here is my [Tumblr!](http://bullet-in-thedark.tumblr.com/)
> 
> see you in a week or so, maybe? (not really sure tbh)


	6. Chapter 6

++

“Lou? I’m home!” Harry walks in, feeling very giddy and excited. He’s got a big surprise for Louis , and he can’t wait to show him. He waits for a response.

It’s quiet. “Lou?” He toes off his boots and drops his keys in the bowl and his bag and the pink tiger lilies on the dining table as he makes his way through his apartment.  “Maybe he left already?” He murmurs to himself, nudging the bedroom door open.

There, on the bed, lay Louis, completely sprawled out. His hair’s a big, fluffy mess, and his shirt is riding up his stomach, showing off his navel, and. Harry wants to lick tequila out of it. He sneaks in, quietly removing his jacket and jeans, and treads over to the bed. He slowly nudges Louis over to where he has enough room to slip into the bed, and wrap his arms around Louis’ waist. Louis stirs slightly, with a quick inhale, but easily enough falls asleep again. Harry sighs happily, and rests.

++

(When Harry wakes up, Louis’ out of the room. He moves to the living room and finds Louis sitting at the table holding the bouquet in his hands, lightly touching a petal.

“You know, you’re not supposed to touch the flowers.” Harry says, leaning on the hallway wall, smirking.

“When did you get these?” Louis doesn’t look up, still mesmerized by the pink petals. He’s stopped touching them now.

“After my study group. We stopped early, and I had a few extra bucks.” He shrugs.

Louis finally looks up now. “You know these are my favorites, right?”

“No way! Really? What a lucky guess,” Harry says sarcastically.

“I’ve never told you my favorite flower.”

“I may have asked Zayn about it on the way to the florist…”

Louis stands and goes to Harry, wrapping his arms around Harry’s waist. “Thank you.”

Harry smiles, hugging back, and kisses his forehead.)

++

Zayn lounges on the couch with Bernie in his lap, napping happily. He’s barely watching whatever’s on the TV, he’s in such a sleepy lull all he can focus on is petting Bernard. He might be a little high still, but he smoked an hour ago, so the effects are wearing off.

He’s almost asleep when Liam bursts through the front door, with red eyes and messy hair. He drops his bag on the ground and throws his shoes off, slamming the door shut. Bernard wakes up and lazily moves to their bedroom to sleep. Zayn sits up, wiping the sleep from his eyes, and waits for Liam to speak.

Liam’s staring at the floor. “My patient died.”

Zayn sucks in a breath.

“It was all my fault-- she was my patient, and she died today,” He laughs darkly, “Complications in surgery.”

Zayn stands, “Li, you know that’s not your fault, you can’t help it-”

“But I  _ could’ve _ ! If I paid more attention I would’ve seen that she was going to bleed out before it was too late, but I  _ didn’t see it _ , Zayn, I didn’t see it!” Liam’s eyes are wild with emotions swirling through his irises, and into the air between them. Zayn goes to hold Liam’s hand, but he flinches away quickly.

“I can’t Zee, I just killed a patient. Why do you want to hold my hand? I killed a  _ seven _ -year old girl today. I don’t deserve your comfort. And d-don’t say that I do, t-that this wasn’t m-my fault, because I know it  _ was _ ! H-her parents were counting on me, Zee. A-and--” He breaks into sobs, wiping his eyes roughly as the tears keep streaming. Zayn rushes over, holding him close in a hug. He strokes his hair slowly, sending soft, soothing whispers into Liam’s ear.

“Liam… it’s okay… it’s not your fault, baby,” Zayn whispers. Liam cries harder into his chest. 

“They were counting on me, they put all of their t-trust in me,” Liam trembles. 

“You’ll be okay… I swear.”

"Are you sure, Zayn? Are you really,  _fucking_ sure? I'm never going to be 'okay' again! I killed  _Marnie_ , the seven-year old who wanted to be a famous ballerina. She showed me videos of her dancing, and she was really good, Zee! I took all of her, all of her potential, all of her dreams, and I killed her! I'm  _never_ going to be okay." Liam pushes away from Zayn and storms to their bedroom, slamming the door.

Zayn follows in right behind him, finding Liam with his hands covering his face completely, shaking in sobs. He rushes to his side, sitting on the bed, and wraps his arm around Liam. Liam tries to fight.

"Li- Liam, Li- Liam,  _stop,"_ Zayn pushes. "Just... stop." He pulls Liam to him, and runs his fingers through Liam's hair as Liam continues to heave and bawl. 

"It's my fault..." Liam whispers.

"Baby, it'll be okay," Zayn hushes him, and kisses his forehead.

_ We'll put the pieces back _   _together._

++

( _ Hey… can you stay @ H’s for a while? Li’s got some fucked up shit rn _

_ yeah sure !! lemme know when its better . love you guys xx _

_ love you 2 lou. and h.) _

++

Louis flips around in the bed to face Harry. He pokes Harry’s cheek, and Harry wakes up, very startled.

“Wha-”

“Can I stay here for a little bit?”

“Um. Yeah? You always can. Why is tonight any different?” Harry yawns.

“I didn’t mean tonight, you dimwit. I meant for a week or so. Li’s in a bad spot right now, and he and Zayn need to be alone for a little bit to get him out of the funk. ...So?”

“Always, Lou. Whenever you need to.” 

Louis gives him a chaste kiss, and flips back around. “By the way, I’m stealing your clothes while I’m here.”

“Why? Half of your closet’s already here.”

“Hush, Harold. I wasn’t asking your opinion, I was letting you know. Was being courteous. Now, let me sleep.” 

Harry rolls his eyes and pulls Louis closer.

++

(Louis covers Zayn’s shifts while he’s out. It’s a lot less fun without his partner in crime being there beside him to wreck havoc. Now, a new kid is on the register. Bradley? Braden? B-something. Who cares? He’s not Zayn. 

All he does is sit on his ass and scroll through Instagram, and albeit Louis did that sometimes, he at least  _ acted _ like he was working. Bruce ignores the customers until one of them clears their throat. He looks up, bored and uninterested. “Yes?”

“I’d like to get a tattoo.”

“Yeah, sure.”

He finalises up everything and sends the customer to Louis.

“Hi, love. What can I do for you today?”

“Hi, I’m Jessica! I’d really love it if you could put some birds on my shoulder, please. I’ve got the drawing for you ready.” She hands the paper to him, and he briefly looks over it.

“Looks really good, love. Can you sit in the chair for me?”

“Um, yeah. How long is this one going to take, do you think? I’ve got lunch plans at 12.”

Louis looks over to the clock. It’s 11:34.

“Uh, well. It’s going to take longer than thirty minutes, I can tell you that. I’ll give you two options: we get started on this tat, and you’re a little late to lunch, or you can come back tomorrow and we can hopefully get started and finish this in an hour or so. What d’you think?”

A pause.

“Can I come back tomorrow? I’m so sorry for wasting your time, today!”

Louis brushes it off. “It’s fine, really. Come back tomorrow at the same time. I’ll put you in my 11:30- 12:30 slot.”

She nods and rushes out of the store.

Barry is ignoring the small line of customers. It’s pissing Louis off. “Hey, Bala-Rama. Come here.”

Baptiste comes over, looking a little annoyed. “My name isn’t Bala--”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Bartholomew. Do me a favor and stay off your fucking phone and pay attention to the customers in front of your face, or I’ll get you fired in a snap, ‘kay? Thanks, Baxter.” He shoos him away, turning around before Baryl can get a word in edgewise.

His shift is much better after that.)

++ 

“H?” Louis pokes Harry’s cheek and forces him awake.

“Wha-”

“I’m pregnant.”

Harry springs up and turns to Louis with wild eyes. “What?”

Louis gives him a blank stare, waiting for the gears to turn. 

It takes a couple seconds. He's dating an idiot.

“Fuck you, Lou.”

Louis grins, laughing. “Took you long enough, dipshit.”

“So why’d you wake me up?”

“I have to ask you something. Don’t freak out, though, okay?”

“...Okay?” Harry’s brows knit together.

“I want you to come home with me on your break.”

And. Harry’s gobsmacked. “W-What?”

“I. Want you. To come home with me.”

“On my break.”

“Yeah.”

“For the entire week?”

“If you want. You could always stay for half and for the rest you could go stay with your family. I could come with you, maybe? I don’t know, help me out here. D’you even want to come home with me?”

“Yes. Obviously. I’d love to come meet your family! I’ll have to talk to my parents and see if we have any plans over the break, but I would  _ love _ to meet your family, Lou. I’d love to.” He pecks Louis’ cheek.

They head back to bed, holding each other close.

++

They're packing. Louis is packing their clothes and Harry's packing the rest. It’s a little frustrating, to be honest. Louis isn’t really packing as much as he is just trying shit on in front of Harry and making these little grunt noises that drive Harry  _ crazy _ and he’s so fucking tan right now--

It’s very frustrating. Harry’s trying to stop looking at Louis, but he’s doing all of this shit on purpose so he’ll get Harry hot and it’s working. He’s got to finish packing their bathroom utilities and their electronics, and Louis’ making it so goddamn  _ hard. _

Louis’ shrugging off his shirt to try on one of Harry’s old sweaters and Harry snaps. “Hey, Lou?”

“Yeah?” He grunts, putting the shirt on, rolling the sleeves up.

“Could you maybe… I don’t know, actually start packing? We’ve got to leave in two hours and you’ve just been trying stuff on.”

Louis turns to look at Harry. “What’s wrong with me trying stuff on, H? I’ve got to know if it fits me, don’t I?”

Harry blushes under Louis’ sharp stare. “Well, y-yeah I guess so--”

“And I’m obviously going to steal some of your clothes, so I’ll have to try that on too- oh! And my pants, I’ve got to try them on too, don’t I? I guess I could go try them on in Zayn’s room--” Louis starts to unbutton his jeans.

“No! I-I mean, no, babe, you can stay in here. You don’t have to stop, nevermind. Just, uh, pick up the pace a bit, please?”

“Sure thing.” His jeans fall to the floor. “Actually, I think I’ll need you for this part. Will you help me, H?”

Harry drops the shampoo on his foot.

++

(Harry’s driving to the airport as Louis snoozes in the passenger seat. He’s curled up, with a blanket covering most of him. He looks so soft and peaceful asleep.

Harry’s realized it. It came to him after one of their dates after Louis asked him to meet his family. They were walking in the park at night, strolling past the pond, tangled in each other’s embrace under the moonlight. Louis saw the gazebo and made them run to it. They mostly sat quietly on the bench, looking at the stars. Louis would point out a constellation in a soft murmur every now and then, but Harry would sit silently.

He watched Louis the entire time, if he’s honest. Watching Louis’ face light up when he noticed a constellation, his eyelashes glimmering in the light, and his soft expression as he started to fall asleep made Harry’s heart clench. This is the point where Harry finally realizes it. 

He’s happy.

He’s met his soulmate.

He’s in love with Louis.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's back! 
> 
> hoped you liked this chapter, here's my [Tumblr](http://bullet-in-thedark.tumblr.com/)
> 
> see you later :)


	7. Chapter 7

++

It’s been four days.

Four days since Liam’s had his panic attack.

Three days since Zayn called into the hospital, telling them Liam’s not fit to come in.

Two days since Liam’s spoken to Zayn. 

One day since Zayn has seen Liam at all. 

He’s been holed up in their bedroom for four days. Zayn’s nervous.

He’s called Liam’s mother, and she said none of them could make the trip down, everything is hectic in Harrison right now. She asked if they could come up and visit. Zayn doesn’t think Liam would be able to make the drive. Zayn’s in this alone. 

It’s quiet in their apartment. Zayn spends most of his time in the living room chair, where Liam sits mostly. It smells like him. Bernard sits on the couch, whining sometimes. The air is tense and hard. 

And. He’s over it.

He wants this to be over with, so they can go back to being happy, and social, and  _ together _ . He stands, setting his empty coffee mug on the side table, and rushes to the bedroom door. He raises his fist, and sighs. 

He knocks softly.

“Li? Are you in there?”

Silence. He knocks a little louder, pushing the door open. Liam’s asleep, with red, puffy eyes, and the bed sheets all pushed to the floor. Zayn gathers the sheets, and starts them in the washer. He picks up all of the trash, tissues, and gatorade bottles. He steals Louis’ comforter to cover Liam with, and sits at the end of the bed, watching Liam snore softly.

“How… How can I help you, Li? If you won’t let me in, how can I help you?” Zayn whispers to himself, shaking his head. Liam shifts in his sleep. He sighs, and walks out, shutting the door softly behind him.

++

(Liam doesn’t drink tequila anymore. He hates the taste of it now, the smooth slide, the smokey taste of the barrel it aged in, all of it. Before, Tequila was his best friend.

Now, it’s his downfall.

In college, Liam was always a big drinker. When he turned twenty-one, he knew it was party time. The biggest frat, Gamma Alpha Pi, held parties every weekend, and Liam always brought tequila. He doesn’t remember most of his first two years in college, thanks to tequila and limes. 

The night before summer break, however, he’ll always remember.

It was Gamma’s biggest party of the year, and Liam was smashed. He wobbled and slurred, and why did everything look fuzzy? Why is the floor getting bigger? Why is--

He woke up on the couch an hour later. A girl-- Holly, right?-- was looking after him mostly, with a wet cloth and some ice. He assured her he was fine, and that he was just going to drive home. He’s not even drunk anymore, he’s completely sober. 

It’s good, for most of the drive. His speakers are blasting the loudest music he could find, and a cop hasn’t stopped him yet. He’s almost home, only two more red lights--

Hospitals are bright. Too bright, too white, too much to handle- wait. Why is Liam here? Shouldn’t Liam be safe and sound, at home? A doctor comes in, tells him that he crashed into another car, a mother and her daughter. Are they okay? No, not really. The mother’s in a critical state, on life support. A-And her daughter? She- She’s… dead. Because of him. Because of Liam. 

Liam hates tequila. He hates himself, he hates alcohol, he hates college parties, he hates everything. 

Can he do anything to help? Do something better with himself, instead of drinking his life away at parties. Do something to better the world.

He transfers to the medical school the next day.)

++

Liam comes out of the bedroom two days later. His eyes are red and puffy, hair flowing in wild directions, and a blanket is wrapped around his shoulders. Zayn’s stunned, sitting in Liam’s chair, holding his mug of coffee, looking like a deer in headlights. What does he do? Liam hasn’t talked to him in four days now, and Zayn has no idea what to say. What do you say to someone who’s in this deep of a trauma? 

_Nothing,_ Zayn thinks. _Just comfort him, and we’ll get this over with sooner._

Liam stands in the doorway, staring at Zayn. “Hi,” He clears his throat, “Uh, hi. I-Is there any coffee left?”

Zayn nods quickly, still staring at Liam and pointing to the coffee machine. Liam nods, and strides into the kitchen silently. He grabs the remote and turns down the television’s volume in case he wants to talk. It’s a rerun of  _ New Girl _ , Zayn was mindlessly watching it, mostly trying to figure out what to do with Liam.

A couple of minutes later,  Liam walks into the living room and sits on the couch awkwardly, looking out of place, and uncomfortable. They’re silent. It’s tense, and awkward, and Zayn wants to ask so many questions, but he doesn’t know what he can and can’t ask just yet. So they sit, staring at the TV, reading the captions and looking to the other when they aren’t paying attention. 

Liam starts to fidget with his mug, scratching the side of it just loud enough for Zayn to hear it. It’s a nervous tic, he does it whenever there’s something big on his mind. Zayn bites at his nails.

“Stop biting your nails. It doesn’t help anything, Z.”

Zayn stops moving. He just talked. Liam, the one who’s been having a breakdown, tells Zayn to stop biting his nails, like nothing ever happened. 

Zayn darts his eyes to Liam, who’s back to watching the show. He wants to ask something, but doesn’t want to put Liam back in the bedroom.

Fuck it.

“How are you feeling?”

Liam sets his mug on the coffee table, spilling a bit of the coffee from the hard slam.

“How do you think I’m feeling, Zayn?” Liam spits, looking down.

“I-”

“How do you think I’m feeling when just one week ago I  _ killed  _ a seven-year old girl on  _ my  _ table. Do you think it’ll be one of those cookie-cutter answers? ‘Oh, yeah, I’m feeling fine, Zayn, thanks for  _ fucking  _ asking,’ Well, it’s not. I still feel like shit, and I want to drink  _ so badly _ but I know I can’t and I killed that little girl and I’m probably going to lose my job and my life is falling to piece, Zayn, and I don’t know how to fix it and-” His breathing starts to pick up, and Zayn rushes to his side, holding him close.

“Shh, babe, shh. We’ll get through this.”

_ We have to get through this. _

++

When Liam calms down, he wrenches out of Zayn’s hold and rushes to the bedroom, slamming the door shut.

One step forward, three steps back.

++

_ (We haven’t spoke since you went away _

_ Comfortable silence is so overrated _

_ Why won’t you ever be the first one to break?  _

_ Even my phone misses your call, by the way) _

++

(It’s a week after they first met. Louis’ completely flustered by Harry.

Louis wakes up to a mouthful of curly hair. That’s weird though, he didn’t pull anyone last night, and he was with Harry and Zayn at the bar. Who-

Oh.

Harry slept here last night. 

Fuck.

They hadn’t even talked about spending the night together! What if Louis did something terrible, and Harry never wants to stay again? What if he just breaks up with him after he wakes up? Shit shit shit shi-

“Whaa?” Harry yawns. “What am I doin’ here?”

Louis laughs nervously. “You, uh, spent the night here.”

“Oh.” Harry nods.

And.

“Is that it?”

“Is what it?”

“You don’t have anything to say about it?”

Harry sits up, scooting over to face Louis. “I mean, not really? I figured it was bound to happen anyways. Wait- Are you not okay with this? I’m sorry, I’ll get my stuff and be out of your hair-”

Louis giggles. “You’re a daft one, you know that?” Harry pouts. “It’s okay though, you’re  _ my _ daft one.” He grins softly, and runs a hand through Harry’s tangled curls.

Harry rolls his eyes. “Well, I’m going back to bed. G’night.”

Louis giggles.)

++

_ (I must admit I thought I'd like to make you mine _

_ As I went about my business through the warning signs _

_ End up meeting in the hallway every single time _

_ And there's nothing we can do about it _

_ Told it to her brother and she told it to me _

_ That she's gonna be angel, just you wait and see _

_ When it turns out she's a devil in between the sheets _

_ And there's nothing she can do about it) _

 

++

The first time Liam and Zayn met, it was weird. It was at an afterparty after some footie match (homecoming, maybe?), and the only reason Zayn was there was Louis dragged him along to get him laid. That’s what he said, at least. As soon as they entered the door Louis darted to the hottest guy in sight, leaving Zayn at the coatrack. 

The loud music was blasting in Zayn’s eardrum, and there were too many warm, moving bodies surrounding him. “Fuck this,” he whispered, shaking his head and moving to the backyard.

It was mostly empty other than the guys in the hot tub trying to get with the sorority girls in short skirts and crop tops. He sat on the stairs and pulled out his cigarettes, lighting one quickly.

“C’n I bump one off?” A firm, but smooth voice asked. Zayn turned his head to find Liam Payne, used-to-be frat boy standing idly against one of the columns. Why the hell is  _ Liam Payne _ asking him for a cigarette at a party?  _ Liam- _ fucking- _ Payne _ , one of the most popular boys at school, and definitely one of the hottest. What the fuck is going on?

“Um, you don’t have to share, then. Can I sit though?”

Oh. He hadn’t meant to say that aloud. He shrugs, and moves to make room. Liam sits a few feet away, shifting awkwardly.

“...So, why are you here? Oh,  _ god _ , that sounded so rude of me-- I’m sorry, I just meant that you’re never at parties so why is this one the exception-- not that I don’t want you here! You- just--” He sighs, “Sorry.”

Zayn raises an eyebrow. “You alright, there?”

It’s barely noticeable, but Zayn sweared that he could see a slight blush to Liam’s cheeks.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve just got some word vomit.”

Zayn laughs louder than he expected, “Word vomit?”

“Yeah, word vomit. When you, you know, stumble through your words and flub up,” Liam’s eyebrows furrowed together.

Zayn rolled his eyes and brought his forgotten cigarette back to his lips, and sucked in. He slowly released the smoke, watching it dance in the air. He looked over at Liam, who was blatantly staring at his lips. “What, you gay now, Payno?”

Liam’s eyes snapped straight to Zayn’s, hardening quickly. “I’m bi, actually.” He spat.

Zayn felt stunned, and a bit bad. He was joking, obviously, but it clearly wasn’t very obvious to Liam, who’s never been around Zayn’s humor. He rolls his shoulders. “Sorry, mate, didn’t mean it in a bad way- was joking, I swear. ‘M pan, meself.”

Liam softened around the eyes, but still seemed on edge. Zayn crossed his heart with his hand, and held up his fingers crossed. “Seriously, mate. Not out to get you.”

After a tense moment, Liam nodded, and looked up to the sky. “It’s nice out here tonight,” He relaxed finally, “Much quieter out here than it is in there.”

Zayn hummed in agreement. “Yeah, it is, but I thought you were a party guy?”

He shrugged. “Not much into that scene anymore. I’d rather be out here, now.”

And. Zayn didn’t know how to react. He hummed, and moves into the grass, laying out. “Come lay out, it’s nicer.” Liam laid closer to Zayn than he sat on the stairs.  _ A work in progress, _ Zayn thought.

_ We’re still working on it. _

++

 


End file.
